KeyBanc analyst Jason Celino raised his price target for Synopsys to $152 from $135 and maintained an Overweight rating after hosting CFO Trac Pham and VP Finance, Investor Relations, Lisa Ewbank. In a research note to investors, Celino says he came away from the meetings with increased confidence in the strength of EDA tailwinds and the company's margin expansion opportunities and that he remains a buyer.

04/11/19

RBCM

04/11/19NO CHANGETarget $140RBCMTop Pick

Synopsys price target raised to $140 from $130 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves raised his price target for Synopsys to $140 from $130 as upside case increases. After taking a more detailed look through the Synopsys Analyst Day deck, the analyst thinks the upside case for the company now stands at $6.50 EPS and that the stock could be worth about $175 in a more bullish scenario. Additionally, he has increased conviction in margin expansion due to the rising costs of SoC design, and thinks the software integrity business will remain profitable. The analyst reiterates a Top Pick rating on the shares.

05/14/19

WELS

05/14/19INITIATIONWELSOutperform

Synopsys initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo

05/14/19

WELS

05/14/19INITIATIONTarget $150WELSOutperform

Synopsys initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Gary Mobley started Synopsys with an Outperform rating and $150 price target. The company offers a "secure, defensible way" to invest in the long-term growth of the semiconductor and electronics systems industries, Mobley tells investors in a research note. The analyst likes the competitive dynamics in the electronic design automation market.

Cowen analyst J. Derrick Wood reiterated an Outperform rating and $160 price target on Splunk after attending its regional users conference, SplunkLive!, this week. In a research note to investors, Wood says he came away from the conference bullish on the demand environment, and says he sees additional catalysts on the horizon after hearing of strength in pricing and competitive win rates as well as growing traction with new products. Wood says he views current levels as an "attractive" buying opportunity given the recent underperformance in shares.

08/20/19

WEDB

08/20/19NO CHANGETarget $158WEDBOutperform

Splunk price target lowered to $158 from $163 at Wedbush

Wedbush analyst Steve Koenig lowered his price target for Splunk to $158 from $163, while reiterating an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The company's Q1 reset to free cash flow guidance has largely de-risked billings estimates for Q2 and the second half of the year, and job postings remain sharply higher year over year across the board., he contends. Also, the analyst's industry checks indicate customer demand for Splunk's solutions remain strong, as it continues to be highly differentiated in its ability to ingest large amounts of data from diverse sources. Koenig adds that contacts were generally positive on Splunk's ability to continue to execute well on term and cloud contracts. On the negative side, contacts questioned the company's ability to retool its offering for next-generation cloud technologies, he notes.

08/09/19

PIPR

08/09/19NO CHANGETarget $160PIPROverweight

Splunk checks suggest strong demand, says Piper Jaffray

Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Nowinski says his channel checks suggest strong demand for Splunk. Based on his most recent round of channel checks with Splunk partners, the analyst expects the company to report "meaningful" upside to consensus in fiscal Q2. He keeps an Overweight rating on Splunk with a $160 price target into the company's results on August 21.

08/19/19

COWN

08/19/19NO CHANGETarget $160COWNOutperform

Cowen cautious on software group, favors Splunk

Cowen analyst J. Derrick Wood said he is cautious on the software group at the margin with regards to macro risks emerging but he remains bullish on Splunk heading into Q2 earnings. The analyst said channel checks have been bullish on the demand environment and he thinks the strength in its enterprise business should more than offset a softer government quarter off of a tough comp. He views guidance as conservative and sees a good degree of upside. Wood reiterated his Outperform rating and $160 price target on Splunk shares.

Barclays analyst Tim Long initiated Keysight Technologies with an Overweight rating and a price target of $103. The analyst is positive on the company's "early lead" in 5G development and sees the benefits from its complexity and costs to last for years. Long also sees Keysight Technologies well positioned in the auto sector, generating "meaningful growth" through the sensor installed vehicles.

07/21/19

GSCO

07/21/19DOWNGRADETarget $86GSCONeutral

Keysight Technologies downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari downgraded Keysight Technologies to Neutral from Buy with the stock having reached his price target of $86, citing valuation. His positive view on Keysight's near-to-medium-term growth, as well as its competitive position, remains unchanged, but he would prefer to see signs of a re-acceleration in its business before potentially turning constructive again, Hari told investors in his downgrade note.

07/21/19

GSCO

07/21/19DOWNGRADEGSCONeutral

Keysight Technologies downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs downgraded Keysight Technologies to Neutral on valuation but as "robust" business outlook remains intact.

ZAYOZayo Group

$33.79

-0.01 (-0.03%)

05/22/19

RAJA

05/22/19DOWNGRADERAJAMarket Perform

Zayo Group downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James

05/22/19

05/22/19DOWNGRADE

Fly Intel: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Activision Blizzard (ATVI) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Stephens with analyst Jeff Cohen saying recent reporting from Kotaku about issues in the Call of Duty pipeline have begun to make bull case for Activision shares "look like less of a certainty." 2. Mallinckrodt (MNK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies with analyst Anthony Petrone saying the company's risk profile "continues to heighten" given Medicare's reduced funding for Acthar, unknowns around opioid litigation, and its balance sheet health. 3. Anadarko (APC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen with analyst David Deckelbaum citing the increased takeout bid that was accepted from Occidental Petroleum (OXY). 4. Expedia (EXPE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus with analyst John Staszak citing its "mixed" Q1 results that showed bookings growth at the company's Vrbo unit slowing to "just 5%" from 46% in Q1 of last year. 5. Zayo Group (ZAYO) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

05/20/19

RHCO

05/20/19DOWNGRADERHCOHold

Zayo Group downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust

05/20/19

RHCO

05/20/19DOWNGRADETarget $35RHCOHold

Zayo Group downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust

SunTrust analyst Greg Miller downgraded Zayo Group to Hold and lowered his price target to $35 from $38 after last week's announcement of its acquisition by Digital Colony and EQT at that price. The analyst notes that while a competing bid cannot be ruled out, its been nearly 6 months since speculation first emerged about private equity interest in Zayo Group. Miller adds that the valuation on the transaction is an "agreeable one" and expects the deal to close at the agreed-upon price in the next 12 months.

Goldman Sachs analyst Alexandra Walvis downgraded Ross Stores (ROST) to Sell from Neutral and lowered her price target for the shares to $91 from $102. The analyst is taking a "conservative stance" on the retail sector. The headwinds in Q2 have proven persistent, says the analyst, who sees risk that a second half of the year inflection in earnings growth may not materialize for many companies. Walvis recommends a selective approach in Apparel and prefers stocks with "clear" second half catalysts or strategic actions to drive momentum. She reiterates Buy ratings on both Under Armour (UAA) and Tapestry (TPR) and downgraded both Nordstrom (JWN) and Ross Stores to Sell. She believes the recent rally in Ross shares is overdone given the risks that recent execution challenges persist. Further, Walvis forecasts limited upside from the company's strategic initiatives.

08/15/19

WEDB

08/15/19NO CHANGETarget $24WEDBNeutral

Nordstrom price target lowered to $24 from $35 at Wedbush

Wedbush analyst Jen Redding lowered her price target for Nordstrom to $24 from $35 as she sees risk to Q2 consensus estimates and back half guidance. Although Off- Price bucked the trend, showing positive monthly cadence sequentially as the second quarter progressed, the analyst is less confident in Full-Price, as her Search model forecasts a decline in total company revenues of 7.8% year over year. Wedbush Promotional Data shows increased year over year discounting, likely exacerbated by weather, and highlights that Nordstrom upped the ante on the semi-annual sale messaging to "up to 50% off" from "up to 40% off" last year - also ratcheting promotions still higher in June with "buy more save more" and "bonus" offers, she adds. Redding reiterates a Neutral rating on the shares.

06/27/19

06/27/19DOWNGRADE

Fly Intel: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. FactSet (FDS) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs with analyst George Tong saying he believes FactSet faces "secular challenges" in the financial services end-market due to the implementation of MiFID II and the ongoing shift from active to passive asset management. 2. Travelers (TRV) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank with analyst Joshua Shanker saying the commercial Property & Casualty sector is "largely overvalued" due to an intra-sector exodus from more rate-sensitive financials into P&C insurance stocks. 3. Sempra Energy (SRE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill with analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith citing share outperformance and moderating expectations on expedited CA legislation by the July 12 deadline combined with a potential credit downgrade. 4. W. R. Berkley (WRB) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank with analyst Joshua Shanker saying investors are mistaking the appreciation in Property and Casualty insurance stocks as the "fruit of renewal rate pricing increases in the P&C market." 5. Ross Stores (ROST) and Nordstrom (JWN) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

07/02/19

UBSW

07/02/19DOWNGRADETarget $33UBSWNeutral

Nordstrom downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

UBS analyst Jay Sole downgraded Nordstrom to Neutral from Buy and lowered his price target for the shares to $33 from $65. The analyst says his firm's data shows that U.S. high income consumer spending outlook over the next 90 days has softened. Further, a new UBS Evidence Lab survey reveals Nordstrom's competitive positioning is weakening, Sole tells investors in a research note. As a result, the analyst thinks the company will be unable to beat consensus earnings expectations.

PSTGPure Storage

$13.81

0.14 (1.02%)

07/08/19

SBSH

07/08/19DOWNGRADETarget $55SBSHSell

NetApp downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi

Citi analyst Jim Suva downgraded NetApp (NTAP) to Sell from Neutral and lowered his price target for the shares to $55 from $67. The competitive landscape with Dell (DELL) against the slowing macro environment adds more pressure to the company, Suva tells investors in a research note. The analyst says he's picked up recent competitive pressures against NetApp by Dell, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), Pure Storage (PSTG) and Nutanix (NTNX). As a result, Suva expects share and margin pressures for NetApp.

06/18/19

COWN

06/18/19NO CHANGETarget $28COWNOutperform

Pure Storage revenue growth remains in top quintile for IT hardware, says Cowen

Cowen analyst Karl Ackerman said Pure Storage remains in the top quintile of revenue growth for IT hardware and he expects the company to double revenues and nearly quadruple earnings from 2018 to 2021. He sees its portfolio transforming toward a higher-margin, software-centric model as the company remains unencumbered by legacy hard-disk drive technology. Ackerman reiterated his Outperform rating and $28 price target on Pure Storage shares.

06/06/19

EVER

06/06/19INITIATIONTarget $18EVERIn Line

Pure Storage started with an In Line at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI transferred coverage of Pure Storage to Kirk Materne, who started shares an In Line rating and $18 price target, saying he thinks Pure Storage is well positioned as an all-flash storage vendor, with unique advantage in key product categories, but says "none of this may matter" in the event of an IT slowdown given limited profitability.

08/07/19

LEHM

08/07/19INITIATIONLEHMOverweight

Pure Storage initiated with an Overweight at Barclays

Barclays analyst Tim Long initiated Pure Storage with an Overweight rating and a price target of $18. Long called Pure Storage a "technology leader" and "game changer" in the storage sector, as it is the only large vendor gaining installed base share.

Technology & Internet Analyst Seyrafi holds a group luncheon meeting with Scott Gifis, President of AdRoll, a key re-targeting company that is a top buyer on Facebook, Google AdX and a key partner with Twitter, Pinterest, and others, in New York on September 24 at 12 pm hosted by FBN Securities.

Following Apple's (AAPL) Special Event, investors seemed to only care about Apple TV+'s unexpectedly low price, with stocks of streaming rivals like Netflix (NFLX) and Disney (DIS) quickly falling on potential unforeseen risks to competition, Tae Kim writes in this week's edition of Barron's. While the $4.99 a month price for Apple TV+ looks appealing, it may not be so attractive once consumers consider the number of shows the service will offer, the author contends, adding that the small lineup offered actually makes Apple TV+ look pricey compared with the competition. Reference Link

United Airlines stock has been range bound for much of the past year, as investors fretted about its ability to weather the impact of higher oil prices and potentially slowing growth, Ben Levisohn writes in this week's edition of Barron's. But the stock is just too cheap and may get a boost after a short squeeze, the publication notes. Reference Link

Amid talk of a coming recession and expectations that the Federal Reserve is about to lower interest rates again - theoretically crimping financial stocks - it is important to remember that buying stuff that is wildly out of favor, such as Bank of America's stock, is historically a great way to make money, Steven Sears writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Reference Link

Even in a rough year for retail stocks, Tapestry - the holding company that owns Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman - stands out as a flop, with shares down 25% in 2019, Avi Salzman writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The stock's recent weakness, however, opens an opportunity, the author contends, adding that investors should have more confidence in Tapestry's cash flow, which has help up. Reference Link

Amerco (UHAL), owner of U-Haul, is one of the "better-kept secrets" in the stock market as it has virtually no analyst coverage, communicates little with investors, and is run like a private business by controlling Shoen family, Andrew Bary writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Trading at $380, the shares look appealing after having been stuck in a range of $325-$400 for most of the past four years, the author notes. Reference Link

North American railroads like CSX (CSX), Union Pacific (UNP) and Canadian National Railway (CNI) have been Wall Street favorites, but freight volumes are declining amid worries over an economic slowdown and a trade war, price competition from truckers is pressuring rail rates and the railroads last hope for continued profit growth is efficiency gains, Bill Alpert writes in this week's edition of Barron's. However, there are limits to efficiency strategy as evident in Canada, where precision scheduled railroading was pioneered a decade ago on the long-haul runs of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), the author notes. Reference Link

Aimmune Therapeutics announced that the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee, or APAC, convened by the FDA voted to support the use of AR101, proposed trade name Palforzia, in children and teens with peanut allergy. Palforzia is a complex, biologic oral immunotherapy candidate designed to reduce the incidence and severity of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, after accidental exposure to peanut in patients aged 4 through 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of peanut allergy. The APAC voted 7 to 2 that the efficacy data and 8 to 1 that the safety data, in conjunction with additional safeguards, are adequate to support the use of Palforzia.

AT&T's (T) CNN will stop hosting advertisements from Juul, which is 35% owned by Altria (MO) and other e-cigarette brands following concerns over an illness that has affected users of vaping products, the Daily Beast's Maxwell Tani reports. During a Tuesday town-hall meeting with CNN employees, network head Jeff Zucker said in response to a question about the company's advertising deal with Juul that the network will not allow Juul or other vaping brands to buy ads moving forward, Tani reports, citing several network sources. A CNN spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Beast that it will no longer allow e-cigarette ads, but will leave the door open to reverse course if research shows vaping products are not harmful. Reference Link

Basic Energy Services announced that T.M. "Roe" Patterson, the company's president and CEO and a member of its board, notified the company that he plans to transition away from the company to pursue other business opportunities. The company has begun an executive search for a new CEO. Patterson will continue to serve as president and CEO of Basic, and as a member of the board, while the company conducts a search for his successor, and will remain with Basic in an advisory capacity for a period of time after his replacement is chosen to facilitate an orderly transition. Once his successor is chosen, Patterson will resign from his position on the board as well. Additionally, the company announced that Julio Quintana, a current independent director of the company, will take on the additional role of chairman of the board, effective September 13. Quintana became a member of the board in 2016. Timothy Day, who has served as a member of the board and chairman since 2016, will continue to serve as a director of the company and as chair of the Compensation Committee of the Board.

Philips has been awarded a maximum $400M fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for digital imaging network picture archiving communications system products and maintenance. This was a competitive acquisition with ten offers received. This is the seventh contract competitively awarded under the open solicitation. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Locations of performance are California and other areas located within and outside the continental U.S., with a September. 12, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is FY19 through FY24 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency.

Raytheon was awarded a $427.3M contract for procurement of common sensor payload systems, spare parts and engineering and system support services. One bid was were solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of September 12, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.